


times apart and times together

by shark_snark



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Male My Unit | Byleth, Post-Golden Deer Route (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), some spoilers for Golden Deer's end and Byleth/Claude support
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-21
Updated: 2019-10-21
Packaged: 2020-12-27 18:51:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21123554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shark_snark/pseuds/shark_snark
Summary: After the war is finally over, Claude leaves for Almyra. Before he goes he says goodbye to Byleth but promises to come back in a few years time. When he does come back to Fódlan, he finds he's still in love with Byleth. Fortunately, he feels the same.





	times apart and times together

**Author's Note:**

> I'm still sad male Byleth can't marry Claude, they're cute together. The story is loosely based on Golden Deer Route's ending and the Byleth/Claude A support, but spoilers to the actual storyline are only implied. And you gotta squint. Really hard. 
> 
> We'll pretend Claude isn't witty and all flirty when he's really having a crush on someone for the sake of this story. Thanks!

Five years. For more than five years the war had waged on, had divided Fódlan and its people. Now that it was over and Fódlan reunited, Claude could focus on a different path. He was confident that Byleth would continue to grow the seeds they had planted in Fódlan’s soil — seeds of acceptance, of communication, of understanding. But for his dream to come true, his ultimate dream of all nations being at peace with each other and exchanging their cultures, these seeds had to be spread. And Almyra was next on the list, for various and obvious reasons. 

Claude sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. He was not sure he was ready for this — for telling Byleth that he’d leave. Not forever, not for long perhaps, but for a time long enough that his heart constricted at the thought. He hadn’t lied when he said he wanted to see Fódlan’s growth with Byleth at his side, and if he was being honest with himself, it had already meant more to him at the time he said that. But Claude could not admit that yet. Not when he was about to leave Fódlan behind, if only for a while.

When Byleth entered his room, expression schooled but tinted with something akin to curiosity, Claude released a breath he didn’t realize he’d held. There goes nothing.

”Hey Teach,“ he started, but hesitated and licked his lips. Even though he was the one who had asked for Byleth to come see him, even though he had thought about what to say time and time again, the words didn’t come out of his mouth. It was an unfamiliar feeling to him, to be unable to find the right words, to have his tongue tied in knots and a lump stuck in his throat. Just how should he tell him that he was going to Almyra when all he’d wanted since the war’s end was Byleth’s affection? His warm hand tangled in his own, those soft smiles directed at him, the comfortable atmosphere between them, the laughs they shared? He’d miss all of that, dearly.

To his surprise, Byleth’s hand curled around his wrist and his thumb caressed his skin in delicate and circling motions. Combined with _that_ expression, his lips gently curving upwards and his eyes crinkling from the smile, Claude felt more at ease. His shoulders slumped a bit as he returned the smile. He wanted nothing more than to lean in, to bump his head against Byleth’s forehead, to plant a silly, giggly kiss on his cheek — he stopped himself from thinking any further. It was not the time for this. Not now, not with the plans ahead of him.

Still, Byleth kept the gentle grip around his wrist, kept the tender expression on his face, and said in a just as sweet and soothing voice, ”It’s not like you to be nervous.“

Claude blinked at him, blinked at those minty green eyes, and then he laughed. Being nervous wasn’t like him, that was true. But it also wasn’t like him to suddenly be incapable of improvising if things didn’t go according to plan. He decided being honest was his best bet, in this case.

”You’ve become a very dear friend to me in the past few years, you know,“ he emphasized, trying the words in his mouth. Well, that was a start. Though, maybe that was all the truth he needed for now. About his feelings, at least.

They had talked about this before — the bond that had grown between them, the dreams Claude had for the future. Byleth probably already knew that he couldn’t realize those dreams by staying in Fódlan for the rest of his life, knew that he had to venture into different nations sooner or later. But it was still hard to tell him, to make it more than just a plan in his head, to make it become _real_ so soon.

Byleth’s hushed voice made goosebumps crawl all over his body. ”It’s more than that, isn’t it?“

He’d had a hunch, the subtle hope that his feelings weren’t one-sided, that they had grown and blossomed between them with mutual care, but he had never dared to dream they were more than just that — his hope, a dream. Claude nodded, though he felt his cheeks heat and his hands twitch. This was horrible. How would he be able to leave Fódlan now that Byleth figured out his feelings? That would make it seem like he was running away, as if he did not want to harbor these feelings when all he’d wanted was to let them grow further. 

A soft and gentle press against his cheek, warm and a little moist, startled him out of his thoughts. It wasn’t fair. None of this was fair. It would have been so much easier if Byleth did not like him back, if he could shove him to the back of his mind and forget about all the love he’s ever felt for him. It would have been so much better if his heart was the only one that broke. But that was not the case. Now he had to break both of their hearts.

”I’ll be leaving Fódlan,“ he admitted with a defeated sigh, mumbling into himself. There was no point in drawing it out any longer.

Byleth’s expression changed into something he’s learned to read as surprise, eyes widened just a little and lips curled downward rather than parted. Claude preferred the tender smile from only moments before. As he reached to hold his hand, and brushed his fingers across its back, he dropped his gaze and whispered, ”I’m not asking you to wait for me, but I’ll be back.“

When he dared to look Byleth in the eyes, he was greeted with a sight he’d never seen before. Byleth was blushing, and although there was a glimmer of hurt in his eyes, he smiled as his arms snaked around Claude’s neck. ”I’ll wait.“ 

They hugged, close and tight, before Claude finally set off to claim his right to the throne in Almyra. Once he was done with his duties there, he’d be back. He promised.

***

Year had passed since Claude last set foot in Fódlan. Not as many as he had first assumed, but still enough to bring change to Fódlan. Ever since it opened its borders to Almyra and Brigid, many things had slowly morphed into what they are today — kinder regards and views of other nations, how conflicts between them were now treated not with threats of war but communication, and even the Church’s permission to follow other beliefs. Claude was sure it was only a matter of time until peace treaties were signed with Sreng and Dagda, and maybe even with nations far beyond the seas, bringing more change to the once so conservative and isolated Fódlan. But one thing had not changed at all and would never, no matter how much time passed, how many more cultures would merge with Fódlan’s. Claude was still utterly in love with Byleth. To be visiting him made him feel jittery with excitement, but there was also a breeze of nostalgia and memories brushed past him, fleeting, for only a short moment. He didn’t even have to force them down when Seteth welcomed him at Garreg Mach, because the eager thrumming of his heart occupied every corner of his mind. After all these years apart, he’d finally see Byleth again.

And _oh_, had he become beautiful. He had always been, of course, in Claude’s opinion, but standing there, waiting for him on the balcony behind his private chamber, framed by a soft golden-orange light — Claude felt his knees go weak. His smile was just as wobbly as his legs when he walked ahead, and Byleth came striding towards him with firm steps, stopping right before him. Their gazes locked and in that moment the world seemed to stop, the monastery around them was forgotten. Claude wanted to fling himself forward, to hug and kiss Byleth, make up for all the time they couldn’t spend together while he was away. But he didn’t. Instead, he straightened his back a little, tried to ground his feet a little more, and settled for a cheeky grin to accompany his greeting. But before even one single sound left his mouth, Byleth smiled that breathtaking smile and took his hands in his own. There were no words needed. No ”it’s good to see you back“, no ”I missed you“, no stupid ”hey Teach, what have you been up to?“ That simple gesture was enough to convey all of that and more.

Claude tentatively squeezed the hand between his fingers, and asked because he needed the explicit confirmation, ”So our courting phase starts now?“

He added a wink for good measure, maybe also to down-play the nervous beating of his heart. If Byleth noticed his shakiness, he ignored it. Instead he exhaled a breathy laugh and leaned in to catch him in a hug. His head nuzzled his shoulder as he mumbled, ”If you wish.“ 

Their hug grew tighter, one of Claude’s hands found its way to his back, the other to his head to cradle it gently. The way he turned his face to press into that soft, pale green hair wasn’t quite like a kiss but something close to it.

”I’d like that,“ he admitted, whispering like a warm breeze in spring.

In reply, Byleth bumped his forehead against Claude’s, and their hands found one another once again to intertwine. For now, that was enough to reassure Claude, to calm his nerves, to make him feel warm and soft and _loved_. There was no need to rush things now; they had time. They had all the time in the world to be together now, and perhaps they’d use some of it solely for themselves before they’d announce to the rest of the world their courtship, their love — and maybe even more.


End file.
